JPH0481830A - Camera - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To allow the mounting of an electronic flash device to a camera body without clattering and without increasing the size thereof and to move the electronic flash between prescribed positions with a simple operation by holding the electronic flash to a prescribed moving position by the spring force generated by the working force of a toggle mechanism during the course of the raising or lowering of the electronic device when this device is raised or lowered. CONSTITUTION:The projecting part 3f of a case 3 gradually moves from the downward left direction to the left direction of the projecting part 9 of the body 1 and the force applied by a spring 12 changes toward the left as well when the electronic flash unit 2 is swiveled to the right. The moment generated around a revolving shaft 4 of the case 3 decreases to zero when the direction of the force applied to the projecting part 3f by the spring 12 coincides with the segment connecting the center of a stationary shaft 4 and the projecting part 3f. The unit 2 swivels to the right until one end of the sectorial hole 3a of the case 3 collides against the body 1 even if the hand is detached when the unit 2 is further swiveled to the right. The approximately upward force is applied by the spring 12 to the projecting part 3f. Then, the unit 2 is stably held to a projecting position.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a camera incorporating a strobe device.

[Prior Art] Conventionally, a mechanism for positioning and moving a built-in strobe in its retracting and protruding positions has been constructed by combining a spring and a tensioning mechanism, as disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Application No. 62-127534. FIG. 3 shows a schematic diagram of such a conventional mechanism. Figure 3 is a side view of the camera, and (a) shows the strobe in its retracted state;
The figure (b) shows the protruding state. Reference numeral 1 denotes the outer shape of the camera body, which is composed of a cover member that constitutes the outer appearance of the camera body, but the details are omitted in the figure and only the outer shape is shown. 2 is a strobe unit, and this unit is adapted to move between a retracted position and an extended position. The configuration of the strobe unit 2 will be explained below. The case 3 is rotatably supported on a fixed shaft 4 fixed to the main body 1. 5 is a xenon tube for flashlight emission. The reflective shade supports the canon tube 5 and reflects and focuses the flash of light from the xenon tube onto the subject in front of the camera. The panel 7 is made of a transparent material so that flashing light can pass through, supports the reflective shade 6, and is fixed to the case 3. The spring 8 fitted to the fixed shaft 4 is fixed at one end or fixed @4.
In addition, the other end is hooked onto the protrusion 3e of the case 3, urging the case 3 in the right turning direction. In addition, case 3 has a fixed shaft 4.
A fan-shaped hole 3a centered at is provided, and a protrusion 9 integrally provided on the main body 1 is fitted into the filling 3a. In addition, the case 3 has a protrusion 3d for mooring the storage position, which will be explained later.
is provided.

The tension lever 10 is rotatably supported by a pin 10a on an internal structural member of the main body 1, and a protrusion 3d of the case 3 is attached to the lever 10.
A claw portion 10b is formed to engage with the camera body, and an extension portion 10c is formed at the other end to engage with the operation button 11 protruding outside the camera body. The tensioning lever 10 is urged to turn to the left by a spring (not shown), and in the state shown in FIG. The case 3 is held in the position shown in the figure, and the extension 10c or the operation button 11 is pushed up.

If you want to take flash photography from this state, press operation button 11.
The user can press down. The operation button 11 rotates the tension lever 10 to the right against a spring (not shown), and the claw portion 10b is pressed.
and the protrusion 3b of the case 3 are disengaged from each other. The case 3 turns to the right around the fixed shaft 4 due to the spring force of the spring 8, and one end 3d of the fan-shaped hole 3a of the case 3 comes into contact with the protrusion 9 and stops, resulting in the state shown in FIG. 3(b). Become. Immediately before the end of the rotation of the strobe unit 2, an interlocking switch (not shown) is switched, and this switch signal is used to start preparatory operations for strobe photography, such as starting charging of a flashlight capacitor.

If the photographer manually rotates the strobe unit 2 to the left against the spring 8 from the state shown in FIG. 3
The state will return to the state shown in Figure (a).

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, since the conventional example described above uses a tensioning mechanism to maintain the strobe in the retracted state, it has the following drawbacks.

In order for the claw part Job of the tension lever 10 to reliably lock the protrusion 3d of the case 3, the strobe unit 2 or the part shown in FIG.
It is necessary to be able to make a slight left turn from state a). This extra margin makes it possible to cancel out mechanical errors that occur in the leg tightening section. Therefore, strobe unit 2
As shown in FIG. 3(a), there is a space [X
is required. When this gap x is pressed, the strobe unit 2 moves, and if there is any looseness or gap, you will feel this movement, which seriously impairs the luxury and quality of the camera.

Furthermore, since the claw portion 10b of the tension lever 10 is located between the main body 1 and the strobe unit 2, the example shown in Section 3 increases the width of the camera main body when looking at the camera from the left. , which becomes an obstacle to miniaturization.

In addition, as mentioned above, as the strobe unit 2 moves to the protruding position, a switch is linked, and a preparatory operation for strobe photography is started based on a switching signal from the switch. It is clear that as the strobe unit 2 moves to the protruding position, it becomes weaker.

Therefore, the spring force required to change the switch must be made stronger than the spring force required to operate the strobe unit.

However, making the spring stronger means making the wire thicker, increasing the number of turns, and increasing the winding diameter, which leads to an increase in the size of the camera, and the actuation force of the button 11 to release the tension becomes heavy. Put it away.

The present invention solves the above-mentioned conventional problems, allows a strobe device to be attached to the camera body without any play, and without increasing the size of the camera, and allows the strobe to be moved between predetermined positions with a simple operation. ) The purpose is to share the same.

[Means for Solving Problem 311] A configuration for realizing the object of the present invention is a camera that is movable between a first position stored in the camera body and a second position protruding from the camera body. In a camera equipped with a strobe device, the strobe device has a dead center between the first position and the second position, and the strobe device moves beyond the dead center to the first position and the second position. When each strobe device moves,
The strobe device is characterized in that it includes a toggle mechanism that applies force to the strobe device in the direction of movement.

[Function] In the camera configured as described above, the strobe device is pressed by a toggle mechanism, for example, into a first position where it is not in use and a second position where it is in use, respectively, by a spring force. For example, when the user lifts the strobe by hand and lowers it again, the force of the toggle mechanism acts in the direction of movement, and the spring force presses the strobe device to a predetermined moving position and holds it there.

[Embodiment] FIGS. 1(a) and 1(b) are schematic diagrams showing a first embodiment of the camera according to the present invention, with FIG. 1(a) showing the strobe in the strobe storage state, and FIG. 1(b) indicates a strobe protrusion state. In this embodiment, the same members as those in the conventional example shown in FIG. 3 are given the same numbers, and the explanation thereof will be omitted. The arm portion of the torsion coil spring 12 is hung on the protrusion 9 of the main body 1 and the protrusion 3f of the case 3. In this state, the spring 12 generates a force in the direction of unwinding, that is, in the direction of separating the protrusion 9 of the main body 1 and the protrusion 3f of the case 3 from each other.

In the state shown in FIG. 1(a), the protrusion 3f of the case 3 has a spring 12
It is pushed almost downward by.

Therefore, a moment is generated on the fixed shaft 4 of the case to cause it to turn to the left.

However, since the strobe unit 2 is in contact with the main body 1, it is stably held in the storage position.

When the photographer turns the strobe unit to the right against the spring 12 to take strobe photography, the protrusion 3 of the case 3
f also gradually moves to the left from the lower left direction of the protrusion 9 of the main body 1, and the force applied by the spring 12 also changes from approximately downward to the left in the figure. Therefore, the moment generated in the fixed shaft 4, which is the center of rotation, in the left turning direction is also reduced.

When the direction of the force applied by the spring 12 to the protrusion 3f of the case 3 coincides with the line segment connecting the center of the fixed shaft 4 and the protrusion 3f, the moment generated around the rotating shaft 4 of the case 3 becomes 0. . This state is called the dead center of the toggle mechanism.

Furthermore, when the photographer turns the strobe unit 2 to the right, a moment is generated in the fixed shaft 4 in the right turning direction. In this state, even if the person taking the photo takes his/her hands off, the strobe unit 2 will not touch the protrusion 9 of the main body 1, since one end 3b of the fan-shaped hole 3a of the case 3
The vehicle turns to the right until it hits , and at this time, the right turning moment becomes stronger as it operates, resulting in the state shown in FIG. 1(b). A force is applied to the protrusion 3f of the case 3 in the direction of the road by the spring 12.

Therefore, a rightward turning moment is generated on the fixed shaft 4, and the strobe unit 2 is stably held in the protruding position.

When storing the strobe unit, the photographer turns the strobe unit 2 to the left against the spring force of the spring 12, and in contrast to the above-mentioned operation, the spring 12 fixes the rotation center of the strobe unit 2. The moment generated on the shaft 4 changes from the right turning direction to O, and then changes to the left turning direction, and the moment changes from the right turning direction to the left turning direction.
It returns to the stored state shown in Figure (a).

In this embodiment having the above configuration, the strobe unit 2
It can be held in the retracted position without any play, and the conventional parts such as tension levers and operation buttons are eliminated, which also has the effect of reducing costs.

Further, since the spring 12 is housed within the strobe unit 2, within the case 3 and the outer case of the strobe unit, it is possible to achieve a smaller size compared to the conventional example using a tensioner.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of the second embodiment, with FIG. 2(a) showing the strobe in the retracted state and FIG. 2(b) showing the strobe in the extended state. In this embodiment, the retracting and ejecting operations of the strobe are performed using a motor within the main body as a driving source.

A two-way hole 3g is provided at the center of rotation of the case 3 of the strobe unit 2, and a two-way hole 3g of the shaft 13a of the lever 13 is fitted into the three-way hole 3g. Lever 1
Since the shaft 13a of 3 is rotatably fitted to the main body 1, the strobe unit 2 and the lever 13 are integrally connected to the shaft 13a.
It will rotate around the center. Further, an engagement shaft 13b is integrally provided at the tip of the lever 13 and engages with the 0-shape [19c of the lever 19, which will be described later, without play.

The direction gear 14 is connected to a motor (not shown) via a reduction gear, and rotates integrally with the cam 15. The lever 16 can rotate around a shaft +6a, and the ends of a pair of arms 16e and 16f, which are provided so as to sandwich the cam 15, have rollers 16g and 16h that come into contact with the cam 15, respectively.
It is rotatably supported by 16b and 16c.

In the state shown in FIG. 2(a), the roller 16h is in contact with the top position of the cam 15, and the lever 16 is at a position where the lever 16 has been rotated to the left by the middle of the drive range of the cam 15.

A hole 16d is further provided at the other end of the lever 16, and a shaft 17a of the lever 17 is rotatably supported.

The other end of the lever 17 is provided with a fan-shaped hole 17b whose center is substantially centered on a support shaft 19a, which is the center of rotation of the lever 19. For the direction, the side m17c of the fan-shaped hole 17b
, 17d, and a shaft I9b provided on the lever 19 is loosely fitted therein. A torsion spring 18 is hung on the lever 19, and in FIG. 2(a), the lever 19
is biased in the right turning direction. However, the U of lever 19
The groove 19c engages with the engagement shaft 13b of the lever 13, and since the lever 13 and the strobe unit 2 are in the strobe storage state, they will no longer turn to the left, so they are stopped in the state shown in the figure.

Next, the operation when moving the strobe to the protruding position will be explained. When the motor (not shown) is activated and the gear 14 turns to the right, the roller 16h supported by the lever 16 first moves to the cam 1.
The roller 16g then comes into contact with the lift portion of the cam 15. When the cam 15 further turns to the right, the lever 16 turns to the right, and in conjunction with this, the lever 17 also begins to move downward. At this time, the engagement shaft 19b of the lever 19
lever 19.13 and strobe unit 2 until one side #617d of fan-shaped hole 17b of lever 17 comes into contact with
is stabilized in the retracted state by spring 1B. and,
One side of the engagement shaft 19b of the lever 19 and the fan-shaped hole 17b @
17d, the lever 19 turns to the left against the spring force of the spring 18, and in conjunction with this, the lever 13 and the strobe unit 2 together begin to turn to the right.

As the lever 19 turns to the left, the center line of the spring 18 approaches the center of rotation of the lever 19, and therefore the biasing force of the spring 18 to turn the strobe unit 2 to the left becomes weaker and eventually reaches zero. When the lever 19 further turns to the left, the spring 18 biases the lever 19 in the direction of turning to the left.

The motor is stopped when a detection means (not shown) detects that the roller 16g has rested on the top of the cam 15, and the strobe is in the protruding state as shown in FIG. 2(b). Lever 1
The positions of 6 and 17 are defined by the cam 15, and the strobe unit 2 and the lever 13.19 are brought into contact by the biasing force of the spring 18 and by the one end 3b of the fan-shaped hole 3a of the case 3 and the fixing protrusion 9 of the main body 1. The location is defined by . Both side ends 17c and 176 of the fan-shaped hole +7b of the lever 17 are separated from the engagement shaft 19b of the lever 19.

In this embodiment, since the toggle mechanism is provided within the main body, the size of the strobe unit can be kept to a minimum. Furthermore, since play is provided between the levers 17 and 19 at the retracted and extended positions of the strobe unit, there is no inconvenience even if there is a mechanical error, and delicate stroke adjustments are not required. It is.

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, according to the present invention, by using a toggle mechanism to hold the strobe in the retracted position and the protruded position, large gaps and backlashes that cause problems in appearance between the strobe device and the camera body can be avoided. can be prevented from occurring, and miniaturization can be achieved.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIGS. 1(a) and (b) are schematic sectional views showing a first embodiment of the camera according to the present invention, and FIGS. 2(a) and (b) are schematic sectional views showing an embodiment of the second embodiment of the camera according to the present invention. Schematic sectional views. FIGS. 3(a) and 3(b) are schematic sectional views of a conventional camera. 1... Main body 2... Strobe unit 3
...Strobe case 4...Fixed shaft 5...Cannon tube 6...
Reflector shade 7...Panel 8...Spring 10...Tension lever 12...Spring 14...Gear 16...Lever 18...Spring 9...Protrusion 11...Operation Button 13...Lever 15...Cam 17...Lever 19...Lever and 4 others Figure 1 (0) Figure (b) Figure (0) Figure (a) Figure (b) Figure (b)

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A camera equipped with a strobe device movable between a first position stored in the camera body and a second position protruding from the camera body, wherein the strobe device There is a dead center between the first position and the second position, and when the strobe device moves beyond the dead center to the first position and the second position, the strobe device moves in the direction of movement. A camera characterized by being equipped with a toggle mechanism that applies force.